| Baker Street Brewery's founder and head brewer Art Hannemann takes you on a journey to find the ales. Catch the train for Arty's ride to the New Jersey suburbs in search of, what else, great beer! It's going to be a fun trip as Arty reviews and rates a new stop each month as he takes the rails to the ales.....and beyond! |
| Take The Rails to The Ales to... Here we go off the tracks again. Get a designated driver and go for it! ------- Pizzeria Uno Chicago Grill & Brewery 61 US-1 South Metuchen, New Jersey (732) 548-7979 Yes, it really is a Pizza Uno that makes beer. From what I understand there are only two in the country that do, the other being in Chicago. If you've been to one Pizzeria Uno, then you kow what this one looks like - wood floors, bricks walls, wood tables and booths, pictures of old time Chicago, and, making this one special, a big wooden rectangular bar. Overall, the atmosphere is relaxing and comfortable with large screen TVs at each end of the bar. Food is standard pizza fare but tasty and enjoyable. But you're thinking, tell us about the beer. Okay. They have 5 usual suspects always on tap, which I had in a sampler: Bootlegger Blond - balanced, clean kolsch-like, Station House Red Ale - easy drinking but not distinctive, 32 Inning Ale - a fair pilsener, Ike's IPA - a very nice, hop dominated IPA, Gust-N-Gale Porter - well made brew with an emphasis on black malt. There also usually have one or two seasonals on tap. I had the Scotch Ale and it was excellent. And therein lies the problem. The basic lineup never changes and the seasonals sell out quickly. If you're like me and enjoy having a ever changing variety of beers you can find this frustrating. Something tells me it's a corporate decision made by people who really don't understand craft beer people and who don't appreciate what an excellent brewer they have. So from me to them - unleash your brewer, give him 4 taps to constantly make new beers and then watch how you become a craft beer lovers mainstay instead of just a nice place to visit. As for their rating, I'm giving them an extra 1/2 engine for hosting the only area real ale festival which they do twice a year. I rate them 4 1/2 out of 5 engines. ……………… Egan & Son's 118 Walnut St Montclair, New Jersey (973) 744-1413 Upon entering this place you're first thought is that if the beer selection is only half has good as the place is beautiful with it's museum-quality artwork and high-concept styling you're in for a treat. Sadly, your not as the beer here is pseudo craft at best. They have brewery equipment being displayed behind glass on the second floor, but it's only there for show. They have several "house beers" which are contract brewed and generally weak despite they stylistic names. They do have 20 taps but the selection was unimpressive; the best being Sierra Nevada Pale and Brooklyn Lager. The bar's mainstays seem to be Bud Light, Corona Light, Heineken Light and Amstel Light. I think I see a trend. The bartenders don't really know much about beer which seems appropriate given the tap offerings. To be fair, the bottle selection is decent though everything is served at extremely frigid temperatures. I didn't eat there since the beer was such a disappointment however in speaking to several people eating at the bar they uniformly liked their Irish inspired dishes. The worst thing about this place is beer potential gone unfulfilled and their pretense about being a true beer bar. I give them 1 1/2 engines ------------------------------------- Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant 124 E Kings Highway Maple Shade, New Jersey (856) 273-0300 This is part of the Iron Hill chain which is know for producing some excellent beers including many GABF medal winners. The Maple Shade one, as it's sister establishments off a good amount of seasonals and even some one-offs. On my visit there were 5 house brews plus 6 seasonals, a nitro and a cask. Impressive. I enjoyed their Digression - a Belgian IPA brewed with a classic Belgian yeast strain, dark and light candi sugars and Amarillo and Chinook hops. The always available Ironbound Ale proved to be a solid session beer at 5.1%. The stout on nitro was smooth and creamy making for a special treat. As good as this place is it's still not total beer heaven since they do produce things like their Light Lager (Bud has more taste) and Raspberry Wheat (not even in the league of the watery variety from Sam Adams.) The menu ranged from burgers to prime ribs all, to my mind, overpriced. Still, quality of the food was good, a touch above typical bar fare. The beers too can be a bit pricey so try to hit happy hour. Overall a solid place for beer. Normally I would rate this place 3 1/2 engines but because they feature a cask and nitro they get a bouns of a half an engine. I rate them four engines. ---------------------------------------------- ============== Hope you get a chance to stop in at my new restaurant in the Bradley Gardens section of Bridgewater NJ. Bring your own great beer and enjoy my great food! Neil's All American Grill, 85 Old York Road Bridgewater NJ. 908-300-8658. Chicken Specialties, Sloppy Joes, Subs, Falafels, Burgers Cheesesteaks, Salads, Vegetarian Menu, Italian Specialties and All kinds of crazy stuff. BYOB ! Stop in if you are in the area and mention you read my column! =================================== *********************************** Here's some good info on planning your own Rails To Ales trip. First step go to www.njtransit.com web site. Then click on train schedules. Next click on "use our map to plan your trip." Now select your train station on the map. And next select your destination on the map. A new page appears and you want to select weekday, holiday or weekend accordingly. A new page appears with your schedule of departing times and length of travel time. Print this up and then go to the bottom of the schedule and it will say click here for return schedule--click away. Now print this page up as well and you have all the info you need to plan your trip. Remember to allow walking and drinking time. And of course if you go off the rails like I often do but sure to have a designated driver! Gotta catch my train back-- see you at my next stop! Remember to leave the car at home and......Take The Rails To The Ales !!!! Arty Hannemann |
Rails to Ales........and beyond ////////////////////////////////
by Arty Hannemann
by Arty Hannemann
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| Arty's Ratings Five engines= the very best Four engines= excellent Three engines=good Two engines= fair One engine= bad news Zero engines=stay away |
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| For the complete listing of all Rails to Ales click HERE |